Francis Bacon, Study for Self Portrait, 1982

Francis Bacon is an incredibly polarizing figure in the figurative art world regarded as one of the greatest British painters of the 20th century, people can't seem to recognize how they're supposed to react to his interpretations of the human form and it's grotesque qualities as acts of love and endearing or a visual diary of disgust for his peers. Studying Francis's early sketches independent of his more poignant works you begin to gain an understanding for his appreciation of minimalism in line work and annunciation of the physicality of the body, exaggerating form and displaying a unique self-awareness for the oddity of our bodies in comparison to the rest of the natural world. Francis Bacon welcomed discomfort by distorting the line between human and animalistic qualities. Throughout his career he subverted the nature of a portrait as being historically empowering of the subject, Bacon disregards a pedestal in representing people and in doing so his artistic practice becomes much more of an honest portrayal of the human condition. The question is then raised if a portrait is more definable based on the physical quality of the subject or their mental psyche. Many of Bacon's subjects were intimate figures in his life yet despite that they become wholly unrecognizable, defined only by the intensity of brushstrokes and color which speaks to an idea that Bacon painted for himself foremost before considering a public appraisal. Following a period of depression in the mid 1970s he withdrew primarily to images of self-representation which I personally find to be one of his most interesting creative periods. Speaking for the image below I feel a sense of calm whenever I look at this work. Bacon's usage of negative space certainly influences this, the image is still besides Bacon himself who appears fidgeting to escape the painting. A common theme throughout Bacon's work is his usage of reclining figures pulling from the contrapposto of sculpture he wants to emphasize movement; the figure appears very closed off almost folding in onto itself. The face is fragmented and resembles Picasso's portraits in form. The fragmentation lends itself to emphasizing Bacon's unstable mental state at the time. I believe it's very important especially when considering portraits place in art history for "ugly" portraits to exist. I don't believe Bacon had any malice in his work as much as he was obsessed with confronting uncomfortable truths about how people pass judgement on themselves and others.

(Week 4)